Day 1
Activity 1: A Read Aloud in Whole Class Setting
Begin this lesson by asking the class “What do you need every day to make it a good day?” Listen to student responses and guide them to speak about things they need to live.
Introduce the concept of living and nonliving by reading one of the suggested books such as:
- What’s Alive? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, Collins, 1995.
- Is It a Living Thing? by Bobbie Kalman. Crabtree Publishing, 2007.
Use different reading strategies during the reading of the book to make students comprehend what you are reading. After reading the book ask the following questions:
- “What does it mean to be alive?”
- “Can you name something that is alive?”
- “How do you know it is alive?”
Show students the graphic organizer entitled What Does It Look Like? (S-K2-7-1_What Does It Look Like.doc). Note: The graphic organizer may be enlarged and laminated. Use the graphic organizer to help organize your student’s responses.
Ask students to recall living things in the book that was just read. Ask,
- “Can you tell me something in the story that is living?”
- “What does it look like?”
- “What does it need to live?”
Record student responses on the graphic organizer, leaving the Nonliving section blank.
After several examples of living things, review the organizer. Circle repeated responses such as air, water, etc. Have students reach the conclusion that all living things have the same basic needs, are mobile, and change or grow. Ask students to name something that is not living or nonliving, and record their response in the Nonliving box.
Display the next organizer entitled Nonliving Things.
- “What if something is not alive, what would you call that?”
- “We call something that is not alive nonliving. What is different about something that is nonliving?”
Repeat the activity with students naming nonliving things from the story or around the room. Students continue describing the objects as you record their responses in the organizer. Circle responses that are the same and help students draw the conclusion that all living and nonliving things have similar characteristics.
Ask students to tell you in their own words what living means. Accept student responses and then tell them that scientists tell us that living things are things that grow, change, and need food, air, and water to survive.
Ask students to tell you in their own words what nonliving means. Accept student responses and then tell them that scientists tell us that nonliving things are things that do not grow, change, or need food, air, or water to survive. Have students talk with their peers to talk about what living and nonliving means. Have the partners share and then work together to come up with class definitions of those two terms. The students will work with the definitions as they learn more about living and nonliving things. Write the words Living and Nonliving along with a working definition on a sentence strip and display them in the room. Refer to the definition throughout the lesson.
Activity 2: Songs for Reviewing Living and Nonliving
Review with students the concepts of living and nonliving by teaching students the following songs. You may want to make visuals to go along with the songs.
Living Things Are All Around (Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
Living things are all around
You can find them on the ground
In the sky and in a house
Dogs, cats, birds, me, and a mouse.
They need food, and air, to grow
They need water as they change and grow.
If You’re a Living Thing (Tune: If You’re Happy and You Know It
Clap Your Hands)
If you’re a living thing you need air
If you’re a living thing you need water
If you’re a living thing
You need food to help you to grow
If you’re a living thing you grow and grow.
A Nonliving thing doesn’t grow
A Nonliving thing doesn’t grow
It doesn’t eat or drink
It doesn’t move or even think
A Nonliving thing doesn’t grow.
Tell students they will be going on a walk. During the walk they will look for living and nonliving things. Students are to walk and observe things as they go. Students are to look for at least one living and one nonliving thing. Guide students through their walk, and when they are finished, have students sit in a circle to review what they observed. Nature walks can also be done inside the school.
Set rules and expectations when going on a walk. Have students keep their eyes open, and their hands to themselves (no touching of nature). Ask students to name one living and one nonliving thing they saw while on their walk. As students share their observations, record their responses on the Observation Walk Chart (S-K2-7-1_Observation Walk Chart.docx). Ask students to answer each question and instruct you to put a check mark on each Yes response. Discuss with students if each of the things met the definition of Living or Nonliving.
Give each student a set of the Living and Nonliving Sorting Cards (S-K2-7-1_Living and Nonliving Sorting Cards.doc) and the Living and Nonliving Sorting Mat (S-K2-7_Sorting Mat.docx). Prior to the lesson, have the cards cut apart or set aside extra time for students to cut them apart. Have students sort the cards into two groups based on their definition of living and nonliving. You may want to model a few cards together.
Extension:
- Students who might need an opportunity for additional learning can create a booklet of Living and Nonliving Things by drawing pictures or locating pictures in magazines.
- Another opportunity for additional learning can involve students using a sorting mat for living and nonliving things. Have them draw pictures of things at home that are living or nonliving.
